The Mord-Sith stood at the main entrance of the vast chamber on a ledge overlooking the room's belly, her feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped down by her center with the Agiel still held firmly in the grip of her right hand. The red leather she wore was gleaming bright with what one could only assume was blood and a fine sheen of sweat gleamed across the angles of her face.
But she wore a wide smile that was nothing but malicious and dark.
Below her in the depths of the large holding cell laid strewn the beaten bodies of near a score of demonic beasts, each wearing gapping gashes, burns, and bruises and more than one had a broken bone jutting out through its leathery skin. They weren't entirely mortal, though, and their bodies regenerated at an alarming rate. That was, when the circumstances were normal. And being here, with her, was definitely far from.
They had thought they knew what Hell was. They had thought that they knew torture and pain like they knew their own names. They had thought that they had suffered everything that a living creature could suffer and more. But then Tala, this woman who knew no end to anger, who had no limit to her demented imagination and had never a thought of fatigue, had shown them how very wrong in their assumptions they had been.
She had shown them just what Hell really was.
"Do I have your fealty now?"
It was the first time that her voice had sounded since they had been delivered to the tower and each one of the beasts lifted up its head. All of the punishment, all of the torture - it had been done with an eerie silence from her. She had done everything without a word and with only the slender Agiel in her hand, and all any of them had heard was its deafening hum shrieking in their minds and the horrific sounds of their own roaring screams.
They didn't know that they were part of a bargain that had made with the Red Woman. Their loyalty had still been locked to their master. It hadn't been released and they hadn't been bound to her.
Little did they know that that had been exactly what she had asked for.
"I said, do I have your fealty now"" Her smile had vanished behind the clench of white teeth and the anger in her voice was thick. It ran over the creatures" barren flesh like a wave of icy fire, causing all of them to cringe and pull themselves away from her prying eyes as if the shadows around them could offer any sort of shelter from her wrath.
"Y-Y-Yesss, Missstresss," came the answers, the multiple voices of the horde rising up to her like a resounding echo, ricocheting off the bloodied stone walls before coming to find her ears. The sound brought the smile spilling back across her lips.
"Good," she said, tilting her chin upward with contentment. "Now that that is figured out, I have some work for you."
She uncuffed her right wrist and brought her empty hand up, lifting it out before her. Instantly, and without thought, one of the creatures moved forward and carefully, as if her hand were made of delicate glass, it slipped its head up underneath the fall of her outstretched fingers. Again, the Slaver smiled.
"I think it's time that we've paid our friends a little visit," she said, watching the creature turn up its head beneath the disturbingly gentle caress of her hand. "Post yourselves at these locations: the Inn, the girl's house, and the church. I want no more than three of you there, and I trust you know how to go about unseen."
"And when you see them," she said as the monster's chin lifted and she stretched her gloved fingers down the span of its throat, it's eyes rolling back in near ecstasy. "You just tell me in your mind. I'll hear you."
"But first," she said, flicking her fingertip off of the creature's chin as she stepped away, turning to start out of the chamber. She looked back at them over her shoulder, her smile devilishly wicked. "I'll have a bath."
But she wore a wide smile that was nothing but malicious and dark.
Below her in the depths of the large holding cell laid strewn the beaten bodies of near a score of demonic beasts, each wearing gapping gashes, burns, and bruises and more than one had a broken bone jutting out through its leathery skin. They weren't entirely mortal, though, and their bodies regenerated at an alarming rate. That was, when the circumstances were normal. And being here, with her, was definitely far from.
They had thought they knew what Hell was. They had thought that they knew torture and pain like they knew their own names. They had thought that they had suffered everything that a living creature could suffer and more. But then Tala, this woman who knew no end to anger, who had no limit to her demented imagination and had never a thought of fatigue, had shown them how very wrong in their assumptions they had been.
She had shown them just what Hell really was.
"Do I have your fealty now?"
It was the first time that her voice had sounded since they had been delivered to the tower and each one of the beasts lifted up its head. All of the punishment, all of the torture - it had been done with an eerie silence from her. She had done everything without a word and with only the slender Agiel in her hand, and all any of them had heard was its deafening hum shrieking in their minds and the horrific sounds of their own roaring screams.
They didn't know that they were part of a bargain that had made with the Red Woman. Their loyalty had still been locked to their master. It hadn't been released and they hadn't been bound to her.
Little did they know that that had been exactly what she had asked for.
"I said, do I have your fealty now"" Her smile had vanished behind the clench of white teeth and the anger in her voice was thick. It ran over the creatures" barren flesh like a wave of icy fire, causing all of them to cringe and pull themselves away from her prying eyes as if the shadows around them could offer any sort of shelter from her wrath.
"Y-Y-Yesss, Missstresss," came the answers, the multiple voices of the horde rising up to her like a resounding echo, ricocheting off the bloodied stone walls before coming to find her ears. The sound brought the smile spilling back across her lips.
"Good," she said, tilting her chin upward with contentment. "Now that that is figured out, I have some work for you."
She uncuffed her right wrist and brought her empty hand up, lifting it out before her. Instantly, and without thought, one of the creatures moved forward and carefully, as if her hand were made of delicate glass, it slipped its head up underneath the fall of her outstretched fingers. Again, the Slaver smiled.
"I think it's time that we've paid our friends a little visit," she said, watching the creature turn up its head beneath the disturbingly gentle caress of her hand. "Post yourselves at these locations: the Inn, the girl's house, and the church. I want no more than three of you there, and I trust you know how to go about unseen."
"And when you see them," she said as the monster's chin lifted and she stretched her gloved fingers down the span of its throat, it's eyes rolling back in near ecstasy. "You just tell me in your mind. I'll hear you."
"But first," she said, flicking her fingertip off of the creature's chin as she stepped away, turning to start out of the chamber. She looked back at them over her shoulder, her smile devilishly wicked. "I'll have a bath."